Jurors in R. Kelly trial to be shown video of the singer having sex with a child

The I Believe I Can Fly singer, who is serving 30 years in jail for sex offences, is back in court on more sex charges. Warning: Graphic details

Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly, who is serving a 30-year sentence for sex offences, videotaped himself having sex with a number of children, prosecutors alleged in opening statements at his Chicago trial.

Jurors are expected to see parts of three videotapes allegedly showing the 55-year-old having sex with his then 14-year-old goddaughter, Jane, over the course of the trial, Assistant US Attorney Jason Julien told the court, the New York Post reports.

Prosecutors allege there is also footage of Kelly repeatedly refer to his goddaughter’s “14-year-old” anatomy.

“The defendant, Robert Kelly, had sex with multiple children,” Mr Julien said.

“He made videotapes of himself having sex with children.”

Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, urged jurors not to believe prosecutors’ portrayal of her client as “a monster.”

“When the government wants to paint him as a monster … you remember we are talking about a human being,” she said, the New York Post reports.

R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago, Illinois. Picture: AFP

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted in New York in September of recruiting teenagers and women for sex.

The I Believe I Can Fly singer was found guilty of eight charges of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering.

In the Chicago case, Kelly and two ex-associates are accused of rigging the singer’s 2008 child pornography trial in which the jury delivered a verdict of not guilty.

A minor victim, who has not been identified, declined to testify in the 2008 trial because of alleged threats and bribes, but is expected to take the witness stand this time.

Kelly, a three-time Grammy Award-winner, is charged with obstruction of justice, producing child pornography, and illegal sexual activity with a minor.

Also facing charges are Kelly’s former manager, Derrel McDavid, and an ex-employee, Milton “June” Brown. The trial is expected to last around four weeks.

R. Kelly has been jailed for 30 years for child sex offences. Picture: AFP

As jury selection began on Monday, Ms Bonjean filed a motion asking that anyone who watched a documentary called Surviving R. Kelly be disqualified from service.

“Any potential juror who has watched any portion of this docuseries must be disqualified for cause,” the motion said.

Judge Harry Leinenweber denied the motion and proceeded to jury selection.

Kelly’s conviction in New York was widely seen as a milestone for the #MeToo movement: It was the first major sex abuse trial where the majority of accusers were black women.

It was also the first time Kelly faced criminal consequences for the abuse he for decades was rumoured to have inflicted on women and children.

His accusers described events that often mirrored one another: Many of the alleged victims said they had met the singer at concerts or mall performances and were then handed slips of paper with Kelly’s contact details by members of his entourage.

Core to the state’s case was Kelly’s relationship with the late singer Aaliyah, which began when she was aged around 13.

Kelly wrote and produced her first album, Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number, before illegally marrying her when she was just 15 because he feared he had impregnated her.

Kelly also faces prosecution in two other state jurisdictions.

– with AFP

Originally published as Jurors in R. Kelly trial to be shown video of the singer having sex with a child